21:5 Luke did not mention that Jesus gave this teaching on Mt. Olivet exclusively to His disciples (Matt. 24:1-4; Mark 13:1-5). His omission of these facts created continuity in his narrative and connected this discourse with Jesus' preceding teaching in the temple that He gave on the same day. It also has the effect of making this discourse the climax of that teaching and suggests that it had value for all the people.
"This [apparently] double audience is appropriate to the eschatological discourse because, while much of it is directly relevant to the disciple, it deals once again with the fate of Jerusalem, a topic of special importance for the people who are listening."460
Luke substituted a description of the comments of others, as Matthew did, for direct quotations from them, which Mark narrated. He also mentioned that the temple's decorations impressed the onlookers. Matthew and Mark wrote that the temple stones and complex of buildings impressed them.
21:6 Luke's record of Jesus' reply is almost identical to what the other evangelists recorded. Jesus predicted the complete destruction of the temple (cf. 19:44; Mark 14:58; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). His following explanation shows that He was speaking of a destruction in the Tribulation primarily.
21:7 Jesus hearers--specifically Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3)--then asked Him when the destruction would take place and what sign would precede it. They did not ask for a sign because they disbelieved Jesus but because they wanted a warning of the disaster. The destruction of the temple would constitute the end of Judaism as they knew it. When the Babylonians destroyed the first temple, the result was dispersion and disaster for the Jews. Now Jesus announced that another similar catastrophe was coming. They associated this with the Lord's return and the end of the present age (i.e., the age before the messianic kingdom, cf. Matt. 24:2-3).
Significantly Luke did not record the other questions they asked Him about the sign of His coming and of the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). Matthew and Mark concentrated on Jesus' answer to the question about Jesus' return, but Luke dealt mainly with His answer to the question about the temple's destruction. The destruction of the temple and Jesus' return would not coincide chronologically.
21:8-9 Jesus proceeded immediately to warn His hearers about being misled about the time of the temple's destruction. There would be false messiahs who would appear and predict the imminent destruction of the temple (cf. Acts 5:36; 21:38). They should not assume that wars and disturbances were signs of the coming destruction either. Those things would happen, but their occurrence would not signal the immediate destruction of the temple.
